


Alters

by ElementalGhosting



Category: Hermitcraft RPF, Minecraft (Video Game)
Genre: Alters are all just one big happy family, Dysfunctional Family, Fluff and Angst, Gen, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, NPG is soft, Swearing, Will probably be angst, except a few idots
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-18
Packaged: 2021-03-04 21:34:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,636
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25103236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ElementalGhosting/pseuds/ElementalGhosting
Summary: Everyone has an evil alter ego. Everyone, it seems, except for Grian.
Comments: 85
Kudos: 446





	1. Prologue

Everyone has an alter ego. Some hermits even have more than one.

Some are harmless, just helping out with building or recording, while others... not so much. 

One of these alters is BadTimesWithScar, or Bad, as he likes to be called. He’s one of the more chaotic ones out there. Although he doesn’t try to mindlessly wreak havoc, he still likes to bully the hermits, calling them names and stealing their stuff while their backs are turned. Opening the chat, players can see the frequent conversations between Scar and Bad, one usually trying to stop the other from saying idiotic things. 

Another example includes Evil Xisuma, one of the more violent alters. He came close to destroying the HermitCraft server multiple times, using creative maneuvers to mess with the admin’s head. After getting banned multiple times by Xisuma, EX decided to redeem himself and be a better hermit, although he is still hostile towards the other inhabitants of the server. 

Xisuma has other alters, including Apathetic Xisuma and Xisumavoid. He almost has the most on the server, but Grian holds the first place spot. 

Grian is a special case. All of the hermits have at least one evil alter.   
  


All of the hermits... except for Grian. Sure, NPC Grian is a bit annoying with his rustic houses, and Robot Grian can be too arrogant for his own good, but none of them are necessarily _bad_.

Grian knew that his lack of a bad alter was suspicious, but he really couldn’t complain! Not needing to constantly babysit an account that got out of hand was pure bliss, judging from the horror stories told by many of his friends. 

His situation left him with a lot of free time. With Robo and NPG assisting with builds, Poultry Man entertaining the viewers, and The Grifter helping record, it’s no wonder Grian’s channel was one of the fastest growing on MineTube!

But the builders life wasn’t as good as it seemed to the outside world. Grian had a dangerous secret. A secret that if revealed, would destroy his entire career. His friends would all leave him and he would be banned from the HermitCraft server, left to float in the void for all eternity. 

**_It already happened once in Evo._ **

Some hermits are beginning to suspect something’s up. Why can’t the small gremlin resist pushing a button, or flicking a lever? Why does he always carry around TNT? Why does Grian seem to spread an anarchic blanket over the server, starting the deadly game of Demise, and even a Civil War?

What’s this secret, you may ask? This simple riddle that plagues his entire existence? 

The reason that Grian doesn’t have a bad alter... 

**_ Is because he  is the bad alter.  _ **

And the only way that alters can become players... is if they  _permakill_ their former host. 


	2. Meetup Day

Grian rapped on the wooden door with his knuckles. “NPG! Get up! It’s meetup day today!”

The door slightly opened. One red, tired eye peeked out at the builder through the crack. “I might be a demon, but I still need to sleep, Grian.”

His alter pushed opened the door the rest of the way and stumbled into the hallway, levitating an inch above the ground. His hair was messy enough that you couldn’t see his horns and his tail dragged on the floor, the tip occasionally flicking in annoyance. 

Grian stopped him with a hand to his chest. “Go clean yourself up, I’ll get everyone else.”

The other blearily nodded, tripping over his own feet as he slammed the door to his room shut behind him. 

The hermit moved down the hallway, preparing to knock on the next door to his left, but that didn’t prove to be necessary. It creaked open as he raised his hand, almost hitting the alter on the other side. Grian quickly put his fist down and moved away, leaving the robot in the doorway looking somewhat disgruntled. 

“Sorry Robo, just wanted to see if you were there!”

The metal, somewhat humanoid alter stared at him in exasperation. “Where would I go, you fucking idiot?” They pushed past the builder and headed down the hallway, muttering a string of swears. 

“Language!”, Grian yelled after him. 

When Robot Grian was originally programmed, they weren’t allowed to say anything bad about their creator. Grian ended up changing that, but sometimes he regrets it. 

While Grian wasn’t a fan of cursing, Robo was all for it. The hermit considered messing with his alter’s code again to get them to stop, but decided against it. He felt bad, especially about what happened to them before. 

The next door he encountered was painted pink, with a Hollywood-esque star carved into the top half. He knocked on the door and received a brief “Yep!” 

He poked his head in and saw his only female alter in front of the mirror, applying her signature cherry-red lipstick. Sometimes, it seemed like she was the only one that really cared about her appearance. 

Spotting him behind her reflection, her face lit up with a smile and she swiveled around in her chair. “Grian! Right on time! Can you  please help me with my eyeshadow?”

The builder frowned. “Sorry Ari, I have to go get ready myself.” Seeing her downcast expression, he quickly added, “I’ll send NPG over instead, okay?”

She shrugged. “Eh, whatever suits ya.” Ariana Griande turned back to the mirror, setting her lipstick down on the table and grabbing a set of long, dangly earrings. “I’m almost ready, anyway.”

Grian closed her door behind him, not even bothering to check the rest of the rooms in the hallway. The Grifter didn’t like social gatherings, so he probably wouldn’t want to come. He was selectively mute for a reason. 

Poultry Man always left at the crack of dawn to egg Mumbo Jumbo. Grian didn’t understand his alter’s fascination with the Brit, but he didn’t complain, as Poultry usually grabbed a few doors for the builder’s Hermit Challenge on his way back. 

And the other door... the one at the very end of the hall...

**_We don’t talk about it._ **

Grian ripped his eyes away from that door and sharply turned around, heading to the lounge. Robo and NPC Grian were already there, along with The Grifter, who woke up from the noise. 

“Ari needs help with her makeup.” 

NPG immediately stood up from his seat. “I’ll do it!” He rushed out of the room before Grian could close his mouth, pointy tail waving back and forth in his excitement. 

Robo stared after NPC Grian, barely acknowledging Grian’s presence in the room. The Grifter looked up from the table to wave at the newcomer, then turned back to his project, a newly disassembled camera. 

Grian threw himself onto a beanbag, groaning. Robo shot him a look of annoyance. 

“Shut the fuck up, dumbass.”

“...”

_This_ was going to be a long day. 


	3. Meetup Day (pt. 2)

There was a knock on the door.

Robot Grian, after seeing that Grian wasn’t going to move, got up from his seat and walked to the entrance hall. He looked into the peephole and suddenly stiffened, turning back to the others. 

“Change of plans! The others are here!”

The Grifter froze, eyes darting from the front door to the bedrooms. He anxiously fiddled with the loose threads of his scarf. It was clear that he was debating whether or not to leave. 

Robo elbowed him in the ribs and muttered something that only the two alters could hear, but it evidently calmed him down, as Grian could see the tension leave his shoulders. 

His alter went over to the opposite corner of the room and sat down on a bar chair, crossing his legs. He attentively stared at the closed door. 

“Right on time!” A faint feminine voice sounded from the hallway, and moments later, Ari poked her head into the room, NPG behind her. 

She wore a white sweater, tucked into a pink skirt. Her makeup was masterfully done by NPC Grian, and it looked as if he helped her pick the outfit as well. 

The demon in question wore an oversized sweater, one that he probably “borrowed” from Grian. 

NPG skipped past the singer, pushing Robot Grian aside as he tried to peek at the door, but it opened before he could do anything. 

Narrowly dodging out of the way, the two alters edged away from the entrance, making room for Grian to greet the new arrivals. 

Helsknight, Evil Xisuma, and BadTimesWithScar came in first. The knight was immediately tackle-hugged by Ariana, while NPG and EX started a stupid secret handshake, Xisuma’s alter still in the doorway.

Bad gazed around the room, seemingly looking for something. His eyes lit up as he saw Grian. The builder waved, beckoning the alter to his own corner of the room. 

He complied, walking over to the host and flopping onto a lime-green beanbag, back first. 

“I missed you.”

“Can’t say the same.”

The builder chuckled. “So, how’s life?”, he asked, not knowing how to start the conversation. 

“Well, seeing as this is the only day in two weeks that I can get away from Scar,  not very good .”

Grian smiled, rolling his eyes. “You know what I mean, idiot. How are the Minetube viewers? The other hermits?” He knew how hard it was to be shunned by others because of your reputation as a ‘bad alter’.

“Eh.” Bad rolled over onto his stomach, his voice now muffled by the fabric of the beanbag. “Doc tried to stab me in the shopping district yesterday. Said he though I was a mob, but I don’t know.” 

He savagely grinned as the builder’s small giggles turned into a yelp of pain, Bad’s foot connecting with the other’s shin. 

“Not. Funny.”

“Jeez, okay! Aggressive much?”

~~~~~

As the two friends made small talk, more and more alters started to arrive at the scene. They agreed to come in groups of no more than three, as anything more than that would make the other hermits suspicious. 

Jhost arrived, immediately drifting over to The Grifter, who happily signed him hello. HumanCleo, TrueSymmetry and Dorothy came next, the three girls being immediately dragged into Ari’s room. 

The rest of the Xisumas showed up, joining EX, Helsknight, Grian, Bad, and NPC Grian in a messy game of truth or dare.

The rest of the alters slowly filed in, mostly cameras in groups of two. Most went over to The Grifter’s corner, joining Jhost, ImpulseCam, Grimdog and a few others. 

Meetup Day wasn’t something that the alters got to do often, but it was something that they all enjoyed. Here, they wouldn’t get put down by the hermits for being “evil”, nor get followed around and babysat like a bunch of little kids. Sure, they had to pick a secret location every two weeks to meet, away from the prying eyes of their hosts. Sure, they all needed to sneak away at the same time, desperately trying not to draw any suspicion to themselves. But it was all worth it. 

Around the other alters, they could finally be themselves.

~~~~~

Grian elbowed his neighbor in the ribs, catching his attention. “Bad, truth or dare?”

“Truth.”

“We were supposed to meet at Cub’s golf course. Why did you lot show up here?”

Bad cringed. “About that... I may or may not have accidentally leaked to location to...”, he rubbed the back of his neck. “Y’know...  him .”

Xisumavoid punched him in the arm. Hard. Although the alter couldn’t speak, the meaning in his eyes was clear. 

_What the hell?_

After shooting a death glare at the mute, Bad turned back to Grian. “Listen, Xelqua, I’m sorry, but—“

The builder aggressively slapped a hand over his friend’s mouth, looking around with wide eyes as the alter made a muffled sound of protest. 

Grian trembled like a leaf, his eyes wet, but his grip on Bad’s face was strong. 

_** “ My. Name. Is.  Grian ** _ _**.**_ ” He stared at Bad desperately, stressing the pauses, begging him to understand. 

The alter looked up at him in fear, all traces of his playful humor gone. He had seen Xel- Grian like this before, but for all of this to be directed at  him...  was absolutely _terrifying_. 

The other alters were shocked into silence.

Most had never seen this side of Grian before. They heard about everything, but they thought that he was getting over whatever happened. 

They thought that he was  _ fine _ . 

_ Evil Xisuma has seen it the most, when he was banned. **When Grian was banned**.  _

_ The two stuck together, the only things keeping each other sane in the endless darkness of the void.  _

_ EX told him about his host, his server, his own fear of being forgotten and never unbanned again.  _

_ Grian told him about his own world, Evo, and what happened there.  _

_** How he killed his own host.  ** _

_** How the others found out.  ** _

_ The two were there to help each other when there was no one else.  _

_EX thought that Grian was getting better._

_ But it seemed as if that word, that  ** name ** , had unraveled all of their progress.  _

Grian released his hand from Bad’s mouth and fell backwards, curling up on the floor with a sob. He muttered a singular sentence to himself, seemingly in some sort of trance. 

_ “ My name is Grian, my name is Grian, my name is Grian.... ” _

Truth or dare long forgotten, the former players of the game looked around their circle for guidance, trying to figure out what to do. 

EX responded first. He picked up Grian, bridal style, and  stumbled towards the bedrooms, towards Ari’s room. Maybe her and the girls could help him calm down. 

Grian curled into the alter’s chest as another sob tore from his throat. 

Bad looked after the pair with guilty eyes. He rushed over to help when EX almost tripped, but was jerked back when The Grifter grabbed his arm. The mute started to angrily sign, and although Bad didn’t understand the motions, the meaning was clear:  _ You’ve done enough.  _

~~~~~

A loud thud was heard at the door, snapping the room out of its uncomfortable silence. 

ImpulseCam, being closest to the entrance, decided to answer it. There was a louder thud as he put his hand on the doorknob. 

At the third noise, the door was kicked down, almost flattening the unfortunate alter. 

The dust cleared, revealing an unfortunately familiar face. “What’s up, bitches!”

Renbob groaned, rubbing his temples. “It’s this guy again?”   


  
Looking around the lounge, he raised his hands in exasperation, yelling at the sky. 

“MY DUDES, WHO INVITED ISKALL69?”

The whole room turned to face Bad, who put his hands up in surrender. “It wasn’t me! I told you, I swear!”

The figure in the doorway gave a giggle, slowly turning into a manic laugh. He turned to Bad, pointing an accusatory finger. 

“I heard what happened! The whole entire conversation! That weird name you called Grian!” He paused to do another evil supervillain impression. 

“And you’d better believe that I told Xisuma and Iskall about—“ he waved his arms, gesturing widely around the room, “—THIS! They’re on their way and there’s nothing you can—”

Robot Grian sighed and stood up from their stool, cutting the other off. “Can you  please shut the fuck up?”

“Hmph.” The invader crossed his arms and stared up at the ceiling, embarrassed. 

They turned to the other alters present in the room, pointedly turning their back to the snitch. “Well, what are you fuckers waiting for? RUN!”

**_Bit of an abrupt change in pace, but hey, I want to get the plot moving. If you have any questions about the plot or the alters themselves, leave a comment and I will be sure to answer it :D  
  
_ **

**_If you’re enjoying the story, be sure to leave a comment or a kudos!_ **


End file.
